The Osun Muslim Community would  on Sunday  hold a national prayer session in honour of Dr Sakariyau Babalola, Deputy President General of Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA).
 

 
This was contained in a statement issued on Wednesday in Ibadan  by Alhaji Femi Abbas, a spokesperson for the Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN).
The event billed   to hold in Osogbo would have in attendance the Sultan of Sokoto  and President-General of NSCIA, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar,  as well as Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of  Osun.
 Also expected at the prayer session are  Islamic scholars from South West Zone as well as Muslim organisations and groups.
The statement said that this was the first prayer session that the Osun Muslim Community would  be holding for Babalola who also doubles as the President of MUSWEN.

Ede is one of the most popular ancient towns in Yorubaland. It lies on approximately latitude 07° 40′North and longitude 04°30′East. It is in the guinea savannah zone. It is has two local governments namely Ede North and Ede South Local Governments. The population is put at 159,866 according to the 2006 Population Census
The people engage in farming, trading and commercial activities are found on a large scale because of the central nature of the town and closeness to major cities like Osogbo, Iwo, Ife and Ejigbo.
Ede is important in the history of the State due to the presence of the Federal Polytechnic, Redeemer’s University, railway tracks connecting Lagos and Northern Nigeria, River Osun which passes through the town and Ede Water Works that supplies water to about twenty (20) local governments in the state.
The Timi of Ede is the traditional title of the paramount ruler and the present Timi is Oba Muniru Adesola Lawal Laminisa I.

No fewer than 17,000 farmers at least, have benefitted from the loans scheme of the Osun Quick Impact Intervention Programme (QUIIP) as part of the comprehensive program of the Rauf Aregbesola administration to boost agriculture.

A set of 77 farmers’ cooperative groups benefited under the QUIIP I while another set of 419 farmers’ cooperative groups benefited from both QUIIP II programmes. Some of the cooperative groups have as much as over 200 as members.

While the sum of N164, 882. 920 million was disbursed to farmers under QUIIP I programme, N686, 786, 612 million was distributed under the QUIIP II, coming to a total of N851, 669, 532 million.

A statement by the Bureau of Communication and Strategy signed by its Director, Semiu Okanlawon, quoted the Coordinator of QUIIP, Mr. Dele Ogundipe as giving the breakdown Tuesday evening when farmers under the QUIIP program gathered at the Nelson Mandela Freedom Park Osogbo to express appreciation to the government for its massive support for food production and general agric business in the state.

This was just as other heads of agencies told the huge gathering the extensive support program of the Aregbesola administration since inception.

 The Osun State Agricultural Development Corporation (OSSADEC) gave out N250million loan to farmers in 2010 while in 2012, it gave out a sum of N500million.

Also as part of the massive provision of infrastructure to aid farming, the Rural Accessibility Mobility Programme (RAMP), constructed for the state 662km rural roads for easy access to farm settlements.

 In addition, out of 300km World Bank-Assisted programmes, 225km roads had been completed through N12bn World Bank assisted loan where Osun paid a counterpart fund of N2bn.

These breakdown was made by the Project Manager of the RAMP, Engr Lere Oriolowo.

However, Aregbesola called on all farmers who had benefitted from the agriculture loans to repay the initial capital so that the money could circulate among other farmers in the state.

The governor frowned at a situation where a paltry sum of N364, 693. 21 has only been repaid out of N1. 421bn government lent the farmers.

On micro-credit scheme, the Governor stated that Government also made soft loan available for the development of small and medium scale businesses in the state.

 He held that the loan was targeted at micro-enterprises such as traders, artisans, market men and women and entrepreneurs.

The General Manager of the Osun Micro-Credit Loans Agency, Dayo Babaranti, had earlier announced that almost 25,000 beneficiaries had benefitted from the facilities from the agency.

According to the Governor, the state borrowed N2bn from the CBN and deposited it with the Osun State micro finance Bank for the people to assess at free interest.

Aregbesola said, government undertook to pay the interest rate pegged at 9 percent by the CBN, which totalled N186 million.

He averred that the interest people were supposed to pay on the principal borrowing was thus taken up by the government so as to make it easy for the borrowers.

Aregbesola said that against the backdrop of the current economic crisis, the whole country is neck-deep in crisis which only massive agriculture can remedy.

The governor therefore made passionate appeal to farmers across the state to stand up and redouble their efforts towards massive engagements in different forms of agricultural practices from poultry to cash and food crops.

Governor Aregbesola noted that the only panacea to the current economic imbroglio is for every serious minded government to rise to the occasion and look for alternative means by exploring the abundant potential in agriculture.

Aregbesola said: “At this critical juncture and judging from the economic crisis of the present, our state has no alternative than to diversify and stop relying on what comes from Abuja, if we must survive.

“Therefore, our dream is to turn the state into a modern, industrial and commercial agricultural state.

“The situation at present requires that we do everything humanly possible to awaken the huge potential of our agricultural sector.

“Failure to do this leaves us with only two alternatives. It is either we float or sink, but in our state, we shall float because our administration is determined to leave no stone unturned at ensuring general wellbeing of its citizenry in making the state food basket of the nation.”

Ejigbo is a prominent town in Yoruba Land and the headquarters of Ejigbo Local Government Area of State of Osun. Ejigbo is strategically placed in the middle of the region, as 35 kilometres north-east of Iwo, 30 km from Ogbomoso in the north and 24 km from Ede in the south-east. It is about 40 km north-west of Osogbo, the capital and about 95 km north-east of Ibadan. It is part of the Ede North/Ede South/Egbedore/Ejigbo Federal Constituency. The population is put at of 132,641 at the 2006 census.
 
 

 
 
Farming is the traditional source of economy in Ejigbo. It is based on production of food crops, such as yam, cassava, cocoyam, potato, maize, guinea corn, cowpea and cash crops like cocoa, palm oil, kola-nut, coconut and varieties of fruits. Trading in textiles and imported goods is also common in the town
Ejigbo indigenes reside in Ivory Coast, Togo, Benin Republic and some other Francophone Countries thereby giving them the opportunity to speak French in addition to Yoruba, their mother tongue. They also occupy key positions in some of these countries.
The traditional title of the paramount ruler is Ogiyan of Ejigbo.
Ejigbo is home to the College Of Agriculture, Osun State University.

Governor Aregbesola has been honoured by WAEC for taking the lead in digital education in Nigeria. This truly is a tremendous opportunity for Aregbesola to help more Osun students get access to quality education. In the new global economy, digital education is an increasingly important part of education, and Aregbesola looks forward to guiding efforts to further expand the reach and breadth of digital education and its courses throughout Nigeria.
 

 
No country can develop where merit and excellence are not sufficiently recognized. 2012 t0 2017 provided a period to assess Governor Aregbesola. WAEC’s endorsement of Aregbesola Opon Imo is an award for excellence and good governance which is a sober effort to recognize and fete merit and excellence in education in Nigeria. Today, Governor Aregbesola lays no claim to sainthood or any special Solomon wisdom but it could hardly be denied that his passion for educational excellence, commitment for human development singled him out for recognition of merit and make him a model for emulation by many because he laid the foundation for digital education in Nigeria.
Governor Aregbesola has proven that when there is palpable decline of faith in Nigeria, his sheer energy and imagination represent beacons of hope. WAEC endorsement of Opon Imo is a veritable reward for excellence and recognition of integrity in governance. The endorsement is a celebration of AREGBESOLA’S innovation and creativity in Nigeria.
Last week, West African Examination Council, WAEC, endorsed Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s policies, especially in the education sector. Delivering a frame of endorsement to the governor on Friday, 3rd February, 2017, Head of the Nigeria National Office of the council, Mr. Olutise Isaac Adenipekun, who led a delegation of the national management of WAEC to the Governor’s office in Osogbo, said Governor Rauf Aregbesola’s interventions in education is “second to none” in Nigeria.
Adenipekun said, “The ongoing revolution in the infrastructural re-engineering of the school complexes in the state of Osun has also caught the attention of all stakeholders in the education sector in Nigeria and beyond.
“The immense contribution of the state government in the development of infrastructural facilities in schools, in particular, the “Mega Schools Project” is remarkable. It is in fact second to none in Nigeria”, he stressed.
Adenipekun said Osun has contributed significantly towards enhancing Information and Communication Technology, ICT required in education sector which according to him remains the prerequisite to development of quality education in the country. Adenipekun, who recommended the Tablet of Knowledge to other states of the federation said the initiative had contributed towards educational development.
He described the innovation as a tool of educational revolution, breakthrough aimed at enhancing and encouraging the process of teaching and learning through the use of innovative technology.
“We are particularly proud of the landmark achievement and the major breakthrough of the current administration in Osun most significantly in education sector by the introduction of the ground breaking ‘Tablet of Knowledge’ also known as “Opon Imo” to students of the state at secondary level.
“As we commend the efforts of Mr. Governor on the landmark achievement and major breakthrough of his administration in education most importantly on the widely applauded ‘Tablet of Knowledge’ which had improved and encouraged teaching and learning, we equally recommend other states to key into this initiative so as to improve the education sector,” he added.
Governor Aregbesola who described “the Tablet of Knowledge” as a panacea to education revolution, said the state had recorded national and international awards on the initiative. Commending WAEC for maintaining education standards in the country, Governor Aregbesola said the examination body had contributed tremendously in raising the standards of education in the West African sub-region.
Whether critics like it or not, Governor Aregbesola has laid foundation and remain the pioneer of digital education in Nigeria and he represents agent of change as far as digital education is concerned in Nigeria.
History of Digital Education will remember Governor Aregbesola as the first Nigerian to implement UNESCO 2011 recommendation on digital education. Nigerians need to visit Osun Sukuk Schools, Middle Schools and Elementary Schools. Governor Aregbesola has undertaken to build and equip schools with computer classrooms and training teachers to use digital media in education.
In this line, Opon Imo “local content’’ in digital education has allowed teachers to use tablets to teach students. In the history of Nigeria, Governor Aregbesola will be remembered to be first leader to introduce digital education. Like India, Osun State is working to improve on Opon Imo. Truth is, years to come Governor Aregbesola will be remembered as part of digital education in Nigeria.
About 33 states in Nigeria are presently working on how to introduce digital education by using Osun model of Opon Imo. Through Opon-Imo, all books, laboratories and study materials needed by students have been catered for.
Governor Aregbesola promised that there would be no need of students buying books and other study materials. The tablet of knowledge, indeed, serves this purpose.

The governor, state of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola yesterday visited the site of ongoing construction work at the Bisi Akande trumpet bridge in Gbongan.
The governor expressed satisfaction at the pace and quality of the work done so far, whilst urging the contractors to keep up the good work and ensure that the project is completed as and at when due.
 
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Ikire is the closest town to Oyo state and can be called the gateway town to the State of Osun. It is within the basin of the famous River Osun. It lies on latitude 07° 30′North and longitude 04°20′East. The population is 143,599 according to the 2006 Population Census
 

 
Farming is a major activity in the town and crops grown includes yam, cocoa, cassava and plantain. The town is know for production of ‘’Dodo Ikire’’, a snack made with plantain and pepper. The proximity to Ibadan, a major commercial and industrial centre in the Southwest helps in facilitating smooth movement of goods and services.
The Akire of Ikireland is the traditional head and Chairman Akire-in-Council.
The people practice Islam, Christianity as well as traditional religion. The Akire Festival is an important event in the town.
Important landmark in the nodal town includes, College of Humanities and Culture Osun State University and State General Hospita

A non-profit organisation under the aegis of United African State has trained 300 craftswomen in Osun State, in areas such as bead making, fashion designing, batik, tye and dye among others, with a view to making them self-reliant.
Speaking on the objective of the organization, Ambassador, Nurudeen Ogunlade, said the initiative was designed to empower the women economically as a strategy to reduce poverty in the society in line with the vision 2020.

 
Ogunlade said the women drawn from all the 30 local government areas in Osun state, have been equipped with different skills and that they would also be exposed to international markets to sell their products.
He added that his organization in collaboration with another group known as All Work of Life (AWOL), is assisting Osun women on capacity building and guiding them through the business side of their trades.
Ogunlade said his organization also plans to cultivate the women to be advocates of world peace, free expression, environmental harmony, universal human love and appreciation of native culture.
He said the women in Osun would also be mobilised and encouraged to lend their voices to the war that has been waged against corruption and corrupt individuals by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Ogunlade then went ahead to commend the Osun State Governor, Mr Rauf Aregbesola, for the massive infrastructural development in the state, particularly in the aspect of road constructions, newly built schools and other projects that targeted the women and children in the state including the school feeding programme.
He however disclosed that out of the 300 women that participated in the training, 20 would be taken to a Business Expo Exhibition in Belize, near Cuba in Central America, to showcase their made in Nigeria products.